


sing us a song you're the piano man

by delinquentprincess



Category: The 100 (TV), The 100 Series - Kass Morgan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Family Feels, Gen, M/M, nathan miller plays the piano
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:33:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26095657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delinquentprincess/pseuds/delinquentprincess
Summary: Miller's mom taught him how to play the piano and ultimately taught him how to get along in life without her.
Relationships: Bryan/Nathan Miller, David Miller & Nathan Miller
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	sing us a song you're the piano man

**Author's Note:**

> This sad little thing has been floating around in my drafts for a while and i finally finished it! I literally wrote it to satisfy my headcanon that Miller loves to play the piano and his mother taught him.  
> Enjoy!

Miller’s first love was the piano. In the warmly lit living room of his childhood home, he became infatuated with the ivory keys as they danced under his mother’s fingers. The soft melodic hum filled the room with so much happiness that Miller could see it clear on his mother’s face. The sound of that grand piano filled his house with music everyday. His father would dance with him while his mother played, the piano would lull him back to sleep after a nightmare, the music would chase away grey clouds. He loved everything about that piano. 

At age four, Miller begged to learn how to play, so that he too could create happiness. His mother agreed with a smile that split her face.

His mother taught him lessons, along with a few other kids from the neighbourhood. Everyday after school, Miller and the others would practice piano. Their chubby fingers clumsily hitting the keys, playing out nursery rhymes. The other kids would go home after an hour and a half, Miller would play until his father called him for supper. He progressed faster than anyone his age, hoping that one day he could be as good as his mother. 

As they grew older, the piano lost its thrill. Kids began to pick up other hobbies; Clarke fell in love with art, Wells discovered chess, and Harper chose soccer. But Miller stayed with piano, everyday practicing for hours upon hours. 

As it did in childhood, the piano was a comfort. If he failed a test, if he didn’t make the basketball team, if he got his heart broken, there his parents would find him. Hitting the keys with such aggression and leaving tear stains on the sheet music. 

The year his mother got sick he played more than he ever had.

The first time Miller played piano in front of anyone other than his parents, was for his second love, Bryan. The boy had dark hair, a gap between his teeth, and lived on a farm. He made Miller’s heart glow, the same way it did when he played; that’s what made him decide to play for him. 

It was a late afternoon in June; the house was quiet, and the boys had just finished their homework when Bryan spotted the instrument in the corner. 

“Do you play?” And how could Miller deny Bryan’s tooth-gapped smile. 

He played him a song by Billy Joel, one of his mother’s favourites. Bryan sat on the top of the piano, making silly faces at Miller as he sang out the words. Bryan’s laughter was added to the list of Miller’s favourite sounds. 

Miller’s mother died in August. 

The funeral service was beautiful in a melancholy way, the sun warm and inviting. Bryan was there, so were Clarke, and Wells, and Harper. Abby Griffin gave him a tight-lipped smile from her seat in the back. Forget-me-nots, his mother’s favourites, were in vases in every corner of the funeral home. When Billy Joel played during the slide show, Miller squeezed his dad’s hand extra tight. 

The house became unusually silent. The sound of the piano was a heavy absence, as it sat in the corner of the living room, a sheet over it.

“You never play anymore.” His father’s words didn’t quite reach his ears. 

The grand piano, once the center piece of the household, now served as a painful reminder to Miller. The house was too quiet without her. Without her, Miller refused to go anywhere near it. 

“I can’t.”

“Nate,” His dad’s voice grew unbearably soft, “She wouldn’t want you to give it up. She would want you to play.”

Fighting against the tears and emotion that were building in his throat, Miller ground out, “Well, she’s not here.”

His father’s eyebrows drew together in concern, “Everything happens for a reason, Nate.”

“You know for a fucking fact that this wasn’t supposed to happen!” The dam broke, tears spilled down over his cheeks and he hastily wiped them away. His father took a step towards him, and Miller took a step back.

“I can’t play if she’s not here. I can’t.”

Finally, Miller allowed his father to hug him. He let his father cradle him and rock him, whispering comforting words into his hear, “It’s going to be okay, son.”

And it was. Miller didn’t touch their grand piano for a long time. But slowly and surely, he began to play again. The keyboard in the drama room at school, the old piano in the church basement, Clarke’s grandmother’s piano in their parlor. Miller would let the keys dance under his fingers, allowing himself to get lost in the music once again. Letting that happiness and hope seep back into his soul. Sometimes Bryan would sit there next to him and listen, sometimes it would be just him and the music. But he was never truly alone, not while he was playing.

It wasn’t until a year later, the anniversary of his mother’s death, did his father come home from work to hear the grand piano playing from the living room. The whole house once again alive with music and his son’s voice dancing down the stairs to greet him at the front door. 

“Slow down, you’re doing fine, you can’t be everything you want to be before your time…”

It was the first time he felt his wife’s presence in the house since she died.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it :)  
> Feel free to leave a comment and kudos!  
> come yell at me on tumblr @harpermiller


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